GenesisCare Cancer Centre

Our work on this state-of-the-art building for a leading cancer specialist saw us forge important relationships during the planning process.

Building on our successful background of partnership working, we teamed up with new designers to produce a building that accommodates cutting-edge cancer diagnostics and treatment equipment.

By utilising our experience during planning, we achieved consent for our first-ever standalone cancer centre that features high sustainability and social impact.

Prime worked closely with GenesisCare to ensure the design met their aim to offer the latest innovations in oncology and cancer care for NHS and private patients. Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trust became the third NHS Trust nationally to offer access to an MRI Linear Accelerator (MR Linac), with the high design specification incorporating two linac bunkers for radiography. The building also includes an area for a radiopharmacy facility for nuclear medicine imaging and treatment.

Sustainability and social impact are key drivers for Prime, with the design incorporating new habitats and better opportunities for fauna in line with the Guildford Local Plan 2015-2034 and the Guildford Sustainable Design and Construction SPD. The project achieved impressive biodiversity net gain figures of 102%, due to the plot having previously been used as a surface car park, and received a ‘Very Good’ BREEAM rating, with ‘Excellent’ for the energy element and an EPC of A.

A sensory garden for patient and employee wellbeing has been incorporated, with hedging around the edge retained to ensure privacy to the neighbouring university. Sustainable technologies have been integrated to include solar PV panels, LED lighting, and EV charging stations, all helping to reduce energy consumption and the site’s carbon footprint.

Communication during the planning process also threw up another first for us, with the Covid pandemic meaning the consultation with staff and the public was carried out online to great success. We produced a Statement of Community Involvement which focused on the cancer centre and neighbouring MSCP also being built by us. We launched an advertising campaign with Surrey Live for the duration of the online event with adverts online and in print in the Surrey Advertiser and Surrey Mirror. During the two-week campaign over 100,000 adverts were displayed online, with 1,700 people reading the published article and Guildford Borough Council receiving 159 letters in support of the application.

The project gave the Trust a unique opportunity to partner with another organisation adjacent to Royal Surrey Hospital and provide both NHS and private healthcare with cutting-edge diagnostic and treatment equipment that delivers world-class outcomes. It eases the increasing burden on the local NHS and helps to create additional capacity within existing NHS assets to address treatment backlogs.